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In the end, for one reason or another, none of the six members of the exploration group backed out.
Seeing this, Takahashi Kuria was very satisfied.
With a big wave of his hand, he led the other five students toward the old school building on the southeast side of campus.
The comprehensive high school hadn't always been called that.
Back then, it was a private school known as Seishi Academy.
Later on, the financial group backing Seishi Academy ran into serious money trouble and eventually went bankrupt. The school was then acquired by a cooperating government agency, officially transitioning from private to public ownership.
After becoming a public school, Seishi Academy was renamed Comprehensive High School.
As for the old school building, it was one of the last remnants of Seishi Academy.
Because it had been completely abandoned, students rarely ever went there. And maybe because no one went near it anymore, the campus ghost stories tied to the building had gained an extra layer of mystery.
The school had already labeled it a dangerous structure and planned to bring in a construction crew to demolish it sometime next year.
When Takahashi Kuria and the others arrived in front of the old building, they saw it standing in the darkness, completely out of place next to the more modern structures around it.
The entire building was surrounded by barricade tape, but that did nothing to dampen their desire to explore.
"Hey… there aren't any cameras around here, right?"
"If the school finds out we snuck into the old building in the middle of the night, won't we get punished?" someone asked nervously.
"Relax," Takahashi Kuria said confidently, seeing their worried faces. "I've checked already. There's basically no surveillance here."
Sure, this was the information age. Cameras were everywhere, lining streets and alleys.
But in reality, unless something big happened, no one bothered watching the footage. Most recordings were kept for at most thirty days.
After a month, who would know that a bunch of ordinary high schoolers had snuck out at night just to investigate a silly campus rumor?
Clearly, Takahashi Kuria didn't believe anything would go wrong. In his eyes, this was nothing more than a thrilling little adventure in an abandoned building.
"Alright, enough stalling. Let's go in."
Frowning slightly at his jittery friends, Takahashi urged them on.
They looked at each other, hesitating, and finally made up their minds.
One by one, they ducked under the barricade and stepped into the grounds of the old building.
The moment they reached the base of the building, the difference was obvious. Unlike the new campus, which was full of greenery and life, this place radiated decay and desolation.
Even Takahashi Kuria, who had been acting fearless the whole time, couldn't help swallowing when he looked at the pitch-black staircase.
Still, he cared too much about his image to show fear in front of his friends.
Calling out to them, he took the lead and walked into the stairwell. The others followed close behind.
What the six of them didn't know was that, just as their figures were swallowed by the darkness, a black shadow flickered past a window on the third floor. All that remained was a tattered old curtain, gently swaying in the night breeze.
…
"Gulp."
The sound of someone swallowing echoed down the second-floor hallway.
By now, Takahashi Kuria and the others had reached the second floor.
Staring into the deep, dark corridor that seemed to stretch on forever, the more timid students huddled together, nervously swallowing their saliva.
The floor was coated in dust, and broken desks and chairs with missing corners lay scattered everywhere, overturned and blocking the path.
At that moment, Takahashi Kuria switched on his flashlight.
A bright beam cut through the darkness, illuminating the entire hallway. Countless dust particles danced wildly in the pale white light.
"What are you guys scared of?" he said, holding the flashlight and turning back with an annoyed look. "It's just run-down, that's all. What's so scary about that?"
No one argued with him. They only scanned their surroundings more cautiously.
Takahashi Kuria rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"Alright. From here on, we stick to the plan."
"First, we check every floor."
"Then we play the game on the third floor."
"Got it."
"Yeah…" The others nodded.
Only then did Takahashi Kuria look satisfied. He led them through the building, room by room.
The old school building had a total of five floors.
Whether it was fear, tension, or something else entirely, it took them less than twenty minutes to check all five floors.
After confirming there was nothing unusual, they regrouped on the third floor.
Takahashi Kuria glanced around the hallway, then pointed at a classroom that looked relatively intact.
"Let's play the game in there."
No one objected, and they all went inside together.
Because one of the Seven Campus Mysteries was "Hide-and-Seek," also known as "The One-Person Game," they decided to play the summoning game one person at a time.
As the bravest among them, Takahashi Kuria naturally went first.
He took out the doll he had prepared beforehand and, following the rules of the legend, wrote the name "Yuko" on it.
After letting a friend hide the "Yuko" doll somewhere in the classroom, Takahashi Kuria stood alone in the abandoned room, closed his eyes, and began counting.
The other five students nervously leaned against the window, watching his every move.
Inside the classroom, after counting to ten, Takahashi Kuria started searching.
No one knew how long the room had been abandoned, but it was filled with clutter, and dust covered everything.
Relying only on moonlight to look for the doll, he hadn't found it yet when his face was already coated in dust.
Coughing twice, Takahashi Kuria felt both filthy and irritated.
This was supposed to be just a game, a quick formality.
Which jerk hid that stupid doll so well?!
Since he'd confidently closed his eyes during the hiding phase, he didn't even know who had hidden the doll.
As he covered his mouth and nose and continued searching among the abandoned desks and wooden chairs, confused voices came from outside the window.
"Huh? What's going on?"
"Isn't the doll right next to the window?"
"It's literally right in front of Takahashi. How can he not see it?"
"Is he doing this on purpose? Or messing with us?"
"Yeah, yeah. He still hasn't found me, so he's obviously just teasing you guys!"
"Seriously, that guy. At a time like this, he's still—"
"Wait…?"
"....."